Quick Takes: News From Israel You May Have Missed

Iran is preparing a massive “bloodbath” crackdown on protesters in the near future if anti-government demonstrations continue to escalate in the coming days, Israeli security sources estimate.

“What we have seen so far is a fraction of Iran’s capabilities in suppressing the uprising,” said one security source.

“The Islamist regime cannot afford for the protests to be successful. They know the world is watching, but they are still preparing for a bloodbath of proportions that we have yet to witness if it comes to that,” the source said.

A second security source added President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters in the Islamic theocracy could come out stronger and more authoritarian than ever if they successfully quell the protests and subsequently continue to stand up to the international community’s attacks on its nuclear program.

Islamic Jihad Suffering From Iran Protests

Iran’s government, distracted with the country’s escalating protests, has failed to send regular payments to a Palestinian terrorist group, causing it a major financial crisis, this column has learned.

Top sources in the Islamic Jihad terrorist group said a major regular payment from Iran, scheduled for receipt by the group last week, has not yet arrived. The sources said the delay was caused by the unrest in Iran and that they were unsure when the money would be sent.

The sources would not reveal how the regular payments were ordinarily transferred nor would they discuss the frequency of the payments or how much money is usually sent. The sources said, however, that Islamic Jihad is now in a major financial crisis because of the delayed payment.

While Hamas – also backed by Iran – joined Palestinian politics in 2005, Islamic Jihad has differentiated itself by rejecting the political process and dedicating itself largely to what it calls Palestinian “resistance.” Still, according to sources in Islamic Jihad, the group this week reached out to the Hamas leadership in Syria for help in making regular salary payments to Islamic Jihad militants, as well as to agencies and associations run by Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

One Islamic Jihad source told this column, “Hamas replied that if they help with money, it comes with strings.”

Hamas Denies Iran Involvement

Hamas, whose gunmen have openly admitted in the past to being trained by Iran, strongly denied claims that it is involved in cracking down on protesters in Tehran.

Other Hamas members, including the group’s chief political adviser in Gaza, Ahmed Yousef, denied the accusations as well.

A top Hamas member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are the best in the world at cracking down on protests. Why would they need help from [Hamas]? It’s a ridiculous claim.”

Multiple reports in Israeli and German newspapers this week quoted witnesses in Iran claiming Hamas was behind attacks on protesters there.

Alleged Carter Note Bypasses

Clinton’s Conditions

Former President Jimmy Carter presented Hamas with a written initiative intended to open talks between the Islamist group and the U.S. without Hamas having to accept all the conditions previously laid out for dialogue by the American government, top Hamas officials told this reporter.

Those conditions, expressed twice by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are Hamas’s renunciation of violence, recognition of Israel and agreement to abide by previous PLO commitments.

Last week, however, Carter handed Hamas a letter “that aims to open dialogue between Hamas and U.S.,” said Mushir al-Masri, a member of Hamas’s parliament and a spokesman for the Islamist group.

Two top Hamas sources said Carter’s initiative bypasses Clinton’s conditions and instead asks Hamas to recognize the so-called two-state solution as well as the Arab Peace Initiative, which demands extreme territorial concessions from Israel as well as the so-called right of return for Palestinian “refugees.”

“In any response to Carter we will reject the conditions of the recognition of Israel,” al-Masri said.

Last week, during Carter’s trip to the Gaza Strip, senior sources in Hamas claimed to this reporter that Carter passed a message to Hamas from the Obama administration.

The sources did not disclose the content of the purported message or whether the communication was written or oral. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they said Hamas had not yet reached a decision on whether or not to officially release the information they were divulging.

Hamas’s al-Masri said, “We know Carter is not acting alone. He is acting as part of the large American system.”

Hamas’s chief political adviser in Gaza, Ahmed Yousef, refused to confirm or deny that any message was passed to his group from the White House. Yousef, however, told this column that Carter is the “right person” to serve as a middleman between Hamas and the Obama administration.

Aaron Klein is Jerusalem bureau chief for WorldNetDaily.com. He appears throughout the week on leading U.S. radio programs and is the author of the book “The Late Great State of Israel.” Follow Klein on Twitter under the name “AaronKleinWND.”

Aaron Klein is the Jerusalem bureau chief for Breitbart News. Visit the website daily at www.breitbart.com/jerusalem. He is also host of an investigative radio program on New York's 970 AM Radio on Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m. Eastern. His website is KleinOnline.com.